


Reluctant Santa

by verucasalt123



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: Christian Holidays, Christmas Fluff, Gen, Male-Female Friendship, Spike is a sucker, and Dawn knows it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-14
Updated: 2014-12-14
Packaged: 2018-03-01 11:42:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2771744
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/verucasalt123/pseuds/verucasalt123
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dawn promised them a Santa, and that is exactly what she planned to deliver.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Reluctant Santa

**Author's Note:**

> for December's monthly mission at nekid_spike. The reference to prom dress shopping is from a story someone graciously wrote for me and can be found here: http://nekid-spike.livejournal.com/4191047.html for your reading pleasure.

“Ridiculous”, Spike grumbled as he fiddled with the suspenders on the overly complicated holiday-themed costume that had been foisted upon him by the youngest of the Summers women. He took a moment then to reflect on how it was that he’d become putty in the hands of every single one of them, even poor Joyce, rest her soul. Even after everything that had happened between him and Buffy, it still didn’t stack up to the amount of mostly small but increasingly..well, _un-Spike-like_ things he had done at Dawn’s beck and call over the past couple of years. Skipping a patrol or a night out at the bar playing poker so he could drive her around to what he made sure were adult-supervised parties, saving her from the mortal terror of finding a bat flying around her room, letting her ruin his favorite jeans with tears and snot when she’d had a bad day at school, and even spending an evening helping to judge and pick out prom dresses for her and Janice. 

Dawn was a senior in high school this year, and she’d chosen the option of one of her classes being a mentorship program. It was basically several different types of volunteering at various places for a few weeks at a time. The first few weeks were tough, spending an hour and a half every day working with children afflicted with fetal alcohol syndrome. Most were blind or deaf to some degree and all of them were severely learning disabled. Dawn’s job was trying to help them learn simple tasks like writing their name or tying their shoes. After that, she’d been sat in a room at the local hospital calling elderly people to check that their emergency help buttons were working correctly. It was tedious and she was reprimanded by several patients for calling while they were watching their soap operas. 

This one, though, the last of the fall semester, had been her favorite. She spent her mentoring time in the children’s wing of the hospital helping them to do fun things like play games and put together puzzles to keep their minds off the fact that they wouldn’t be home for the holidays. In a moment of what she considered brilliant inspiration, she told her supervisor that she could bring someone in to play Santa for the kids; maybe hand out a few presents and do some ho-ho-ho-ing for their pleasure. 

And of course who else’s time and effort would she volunteer other than Spike’s? It was his own fault, really, having spoilt her so badly in the past. The idea of him refusing didn’t even cross her mind. Though it did cross his. Not for long, but he at least had to make an argument before he (as they both knew he would) agreed to do it. 

“Couldn’t have asked Angel? He wouldn’t even have needed the fat suit”, Spike said, holding out the costume and accessories for a good long look.

“Spike! That’s mean and you know it! I didn’t want to ask him to drive all the way from Los Angeles. And anyway, who ever heard of a mopey, broody Santa?”

“Oi”, Spike replied, “now you can insult Angel and I can’t?”

Dawn gave him the look. You know, that one that only seventeen year olds have mastered, filled with equal measures of contempt and knowing how much smarter they are than you. “I did not insult Angel. I realize you like referring to him as being ‘fat’ but you know that he’s not and even if he were it would be mean to make fun of him for it. All I did was state a fact. We both know damn well it would be next to impossible to get any holiday cheer out of him, even for sick children.”

And yeah, she had a point there. But..”Language, Bit. And anyway, what about Rupert? It’s not like I’m not the only man you know.”

“Mr. Giles couldn’t pull off an American accent with a gun to his head and you know it. These kids are from California, they’re not going to buy a British Santa for a second. They’re ill, Spike, not stupid.”

Under his breath, Spike muttered, “Stupid enough to believe in Santa…” but Dawn caught it and was having none of that. “They’re little! They’re supposed to believe in Santa Claus! It’s part of the special magic of Christmas for kids! I promised them a Santa and that’s exactly what they’re going to get. Now, how much longer are you going to keep complaining? Because we’re both well aware that you aren’t going to say no.”

With the sigh of the unending suffering of the older brother he was never meant to be, Spike brought the whole kit into the bathroom. Which is where he was found at the beginning of this story, messing with suspenders and trying to make all of the extra padding look evenly distributed. 

Once he finally had the entire thing on, even the stupid scratchy beard with its elastic holder hidden under his bright red hat, Spike made his appearance in the living room for Dawn’s inspection. 

What he expected were a few ‘helpful hints’, maybe moving things around here and there, or even a few critical remarks. He was certainly not prepared for the soft and grateful look on Dawn’s face, or the way her eyes teared up a little as she moved in for an embrace that caught him completely off-guard. Neither of them were particularly cuddly, but sometimes Dawn just felt like giving hugs and she was like a ninja with those things, it just wasn’t something that could be avoided. Not that Spike was admitting he probably wouldn’t even try to avoid it anyway. 

“Look at you! Oh, I don’t even know what to say. Just – you’re gonna make those kids really happy today, Spike. I know you didn’t wanna do this and maybe you did it for me and not for them, but you just wait and see how thrilled all these little children are when they get their visit from Santa. You’re not gonna regret this, I promise”, she finished, adding in another tiny little hug and a kiss to his cheek. 

All right, Spike had to admit to himself, it wasn’t the hardest thing he ever had to do. He guessed he really didn’t even mind it all that much, not if it made Dawn that happy.


End file.
